Ashley Poole held off a serious challenge from multi-time winner Bubba Russell to score his first Limited Late Model feature win of the season at Georgia’s Lavonia Speedway on Saturday night.
Poole started the night by securing a front-row starting position in qualifying. From there, he went on to score a hard-fought victory over Russell.
Gus Simpson finished in third, with Mason Tucker in fourth and Tyler Canup in fifth.
In other action, Adam Partain scored his second FASTRAK Pro Late Model feature win of the season, as he held off Frankie Beard and Parker Herring to earn the victory. Will Beard, raced to a fourth place finish, with Payton Freeman in fifth.
Blake Craft scored his second consecutive win in the 602 Hobby division. Rusty House gave chase, but Craft held him off to score the $800 win in one of two extra-purse events on the evening. Nick Schlager finished third ahead of Cody Smith in fourth and Kevin Tullis in fifth.
The other division offering bonus money was the Modified Streets, with Rusty Jordan adding the $750 paycheck to his totals for the year with the victory. Sterling Helm, Daniel Doster and Johnny Pilgrim rounded out the running order.
In one of the most exciting races of the season, Evan Brown and Jack Hill battled side-by-side for the entire 15-lap distance in the Stock V8 Feature. Hill would pull slightly ahead on the inner groove while Brown would maintain the momentum on the high side and edge Hill at the line lap after lap. The final lap saw Hill make a last-ditch effort to steal the win, but Brown held his ground and edged Hill by .034 of a second to score the victory. Rocky Jones took third with Ricky Chamberlain in fourth and Joseph Teasley in fifth.
The Beginner 4-Cylinder division also featured a photo finish. Dakota Whittemore appeared to be headed to victory, but Preston Kelly made a dive to the inside at the finish line and grabbed away the win by a margin of only .025 of a second. Allen Branson finished third, followed by Jacob Kelly in fourth and Nathaniel Little in fifth.
In the Stock 4 feature, Kevin Kelly launched from the front row to grab the lead ahead of Danny Sexton. Kelly would hold the point the rest of the way to score the win. Ryan Boles finished in second, with Scott Hollars in third, Sexton in fourth and Jeff Dobbs in fifth.
Hunter Anthony and Justin Reed waged a battle for the win in the Front Wheel Drive division, with Anthony taking the victory. An encounter with a lapped car a couple of laps from the checkered flag allowed Reed to wrest the lead away from Anthony momentarily, but Anthony clawed his way back to the point to get the win. B. J. Gillespie finished third, followed by Tony Stevens in fourth and Cody Henry in fifth.
Lavonia Speedway is back in action on Saturday, August 26, as the raceway hosts Fan Appreciation Night with a meet and greet for all the drivers and fans. For more information, visit LavoniaSpeedway.net.
Lavonia Speedway – Lavonia, GA
Race Results – August 19, 2017
Limited Late Model
1. Ashley Poole
2. Bubba Russell
3. Gus Simpson
4. Mason Tucker
5. Tyler Canup
DNS: Chris Segars
DNS: Dustin Mincey
DNS: Jimmy Johnson
FASTRAK Pro Late Model
1. Adam Partain
2. Frankie Beard
3. Parker Herring
4. Will Beard
5. Payton Freeman
6. Adam Smith
7. Andrew Cole
8. Kole Hardy
9. Cody Pritchett
10. Vince Fanello
11. Austin Reed
DNS: Sam Hicks
602 Hobby
1. Blake Craft
2. Rusty House
3. Nick Schlager
4. Cody Smith
5. Kevin Tullis
Modified Street
1. Rusty Jordan
2. Sterling Helm
3. Daniel Doster
4. Johnny Pilgrim
Stock V8
1. Evan Brown
2. Jack Hill
3. Rocky Jones
4. Ricky Chamberlain
5. Joseph Teasley
6. Timmy Jones
7. Tyler Kennedy
8. Jake Trotter
Stock 4-Cylinder
1. Kevin Kelly
2. Ryan Boles
3. Scott Hollars
4. Danny Sexton
5. Jeff Dobbs
6. Chris Little
7. Mike Little
8. Rhett Langston
Front Wheel Drive
1. Hunter Anthony
2. Justin Reed
3. B.J. Gillespie
4. Tony Stevens
5. Cody Henry
6. Marl Taylor
7. Aaron Limbaugh
8. Matthew Wall
9. Joey Kennedy
Beginner 4-Cylinder
1. Preston Kelly
2. Dakota Whittemore
3. Allen Branson
4. Jacob Kelly
5. Nathaniel Little
6. Trent Blackwell
7. Andon Doster
8. Dalton Bailey
9. Tyler Riddle
10. Dakota Taylor
DNS: Alan Middleton
